How to use the tournament ROI calculator
- Tournaments played: the total number of tournaments in your sample.
- Average buy-in: include the entry fee (rake). A $50+$5 tournament is a $55 buy-in.
- Rebuys and add-ons: the total extra you spent on re-entries, rebuys and add-ons across all tournaments.
- Total winnings: the sum of every prize you collected, before subtracting buy-ins.
- Number of cashes: how many times you finished in the money. This gives your ITM %.
What is tournament ROI?
ROI (return on investment) is the most important number for a tournament player. It tells you how much you win, on average, for every dollar you put into tournaments:
ROI = (Total winnings − Total cost) ÷ Total cost × 100
An ROI of 25% means you profit 25 cents for every dollar spent. Because ROI is a percentage, it lets you compare results across different buy-in levels.
What is a good poker tournament ROI?
| Format | Solid winning ROI | Excellent ROI |
|---|---|---|
| Large-field online MTTs | 15%–30% | 50%+ |
| Small-field live MTTs | 20%–40% | 60%+ |
| Sit & Gos (9-max) | 5%–10% | 15%+ |
| Hyper-turbo Sit & Gos | 2%–4% | 6%+ |
Tournament ROI is extremely noisy. Even with 500 tournaments, your measured ROI can be far from your true ROI. Use the variance calculator to understand how wide that range can be, and make sure your bankroll can handle it with the bankroll calculator.
Tournament ROI examples
Example 1: Live $100 tournaments
You played 40 tournaments at $100, spent $400 on re-entries and won $6,200 from 7 cashes. Total cost is $4,400, profit is $1,800 and your ROI is 40.9%. Your ITM rate is 17.5%.
Example 2: Online $11 MTTs
You played 600 tournaments at $11 and cashed for $7,500 total. Cost is $6,600, profit $900, ROI 13.6% and average profit $1.50 per tournament.
ITM % vs ROI
ITM (in the money) percentage is how often you cash. A typical winning MTT player cashes 12%–20% of the time. A high ITM with a low ROI often means you are min-cashing too much and not playing for the big prizes; a low ITM with a high ROI usually means a few deep runs are carrying your results.
Tournament ROI calculator FAQ
Should I include rake in my buy-in?
Yes. Your real cost includes the fee, so including it gives your true ROI.
How many tournaments do I need for an accurate ROI?
For large-field MTTs, thousands. With a few hundred tournaments your ROI is a rough guide, not a reliable figure.
Do bounties count as winnings?
Yes. Add bounty money to your total winnings.
Can ROI be negative?
Yes. A negative ROI means you lost money — for example −15% means you lost 15 cents per dollar invested.
Track your tournament ROI automatically with Poker Tracking's tournament tracker.